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The American Dream

By Joe Templin · July 17, 2026 · 2 min read

“My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.”  -Abraham Lincoln

More people have come to our shores over the past two and a half centuries in pursuit of freedom and control over their economic destiny than any other place on earth.

More people have built a fortune through their own efforts in the land of opportunity than anywhere else on the planet.

America has never been perfect, is not today, and never will be.  But it still gives more monetary mobility than basically anywhere else, and has nearly unlimited options and pathways to success and financial freedom.

Same with this profession.  Easiest place to make a quarter million dollars a year, hardest place to make fifty k.  But the five-fold difference in income is just a little bit more focused effort and some faith in the freedom our field provides.

Financial services is somewhat fractured and disdained from the outside, with different parts pointing fingers at each other.  It doesn’t matter what you sell, you are still in our profession just like we are all Americans.  Our country is still the beacon of freedom and opportunity for the world, and you can and should be that for Americans everywhere.

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